Tag: to do list

To Do in May

On By durhammastergardenersIn Gardening calendar

Fertilizing

  • Fertilize summer flowering plants like crape myrtle and rose- of-Sharon this month.
  • Do not forget to sidedress or fertilize your vegetable six to eight weeks after germination.

Planting

  • Plant gladioli bulbs (corms) this month.
  • Plant summer annuals like begonia, geranium, marigold, petunia and zinnia this month.
  • The following vegetable plants can be set out this month: eggplant, pepper, tomato and sweet potato.
  • The following vegetables can be planted this month: beans, lima beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers, okra, southern peas, pumpkin, squash and watermelon.
  • Plant warm season herbs such as basil.  Divide and transplant mature herb plantings.

Pruning

  • Prune your hybrid rhododendrons after they finish flowering.
  • Prune any hedges that have outgrown their desired shape.
  • Begin pinching your chrysanthemums and continue through early July.
  • Pick off azalea leaf galls as they form.
  • Do NOT cut back spring bulb foliage until it turns yellow and brown.

Spraying

  • Spray the following landscape shrubs for the following insect pests: arborvitae-bag worm, azalea-lace bug, boxwood-leaf miner, euonymus-scale, hemlock and juniper-spruce mites, pyracantha-lace bug and hybrid rhododendron borer if needed.
  • Spray iris beds for iris borers if needed.
  • Spray the following vegetables if insects are observed: cucumber (cucumber beetle), squash (squash borer and aphids, tomato and eggplant (flea beetle), broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower (worms).
  • Weekly sprays on red-tip photinia if leaf spot is observed.
  • Continue with rose spray program.
  • Keep spraying your tree fruits and bunch grapes with a fungicide program.
  • Use pesticides sparingly. Spray only when needed and follow all instructions on the label.

Lawn Care

  • Fertilize zoysia this month after it has greened up. Do NOT fertilize tall fescue now.
  • Start warm season lawns like zoysia in May.
  • Mowing heights for your lawn are important. Cut tall fescue and bluegrass at three inches, zoysia at one inch.

Propagation

  • Take softwood cuttings of plants like azalea, rhododendron, forsythia, clematis, chrysanthemum and geranium in late May if you have a misting system.

Specific Chores

  • Purchase locally grown strawberries.
  • Move houseplants outside if desired.
  • If weather has been dry, give favorite plants a good soaking once a week.

From http://catawba.ces.ncsu.edu/calendar-2/

To Do in April

On By durhammastergardenersIn Gardening information

Fertilizing

  • Fertilize azaleas after they bloom
  • Fertilize annuals, shrubs, and trees that were not fertilized in the fall

Planting

  • Plant summer bulbs
  • The average last spring frost date in Durham County is April 13, +/- 11 days. After last frost, plant herbs and warm-season vegetables.
  • The following warm-weather vegetable can be planted this month:  green beans, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes, melons, swiss chard, beets, cantaloupe, and corn.
  • Replace cool-season annuals, such as pansies with summer annuals.
  • Plant perennial seeds, such as hollyhock, coreopsis, daisy, phlox and Sweet William.
  • Plant small fruit plants, such as strawberry, blueberry and blackberry.

Pruning

  • Cut back butterfly bushes to approximately 30”
  • Cut back ornamental grasses close to the ground
  • Prune azaleas after they bloom
  • Pinch chrysanthemums to promote later bloom

Spraying

  • Spray insect oil on fruit trees
  • Check azaleas, rhododendron and pyrachanta for lace bugs.  Treat with an insecticide if necessary.
  • Spray roses before buds open.
  • Begin spraying to control poison ivy, honeysuckle and kudzu with a recommended herbicide.

Lawn Care

  • Start mowing tall fescue to three inches
  • Begin irrigation
  • Fertilize warm-season grasses
  • Do not fertilize cool-season grasses, such as tall fescue, Kentucky blue grass and fine fescue now.
  • Mow your warm-season grasses at the correct height.  Bermuda and zoysia at 1 inch and St. Augustine at 2-3 inches.

Propagation

  • Divide perennials such as daylilies and hostas

Specific Chores

  • Perform mower maintenance
  • Re-mulch beds
  • Clean out water gardens